Play Ball!

Well, here we go folks. The official first baseball game at Nationals Park starts in less than two hours, (8:15 p.m.), but as you saw in today's Washington Post (please tell me you saw it in today's WP), last night's exhibition game seemed to go off with little major problems. Season ticket-holders and their guests got first dibbs on the $611 million stadium project, which was publicly funded by the District taxpayers. (That's something city leaders don't want anyone to forget.) The question remains if that $611 million investment is going to pay off for the city's residents. It's been no secret that some District Council members haven't been overwhelmed by returns on the investment so far.

As far as fans go, however, the reviews from last night were great, with people using words such as "gorgeous" and "incredible" to describe the park. They view from the stadium, the activities for kids, the variety of food, fans loved it all.

But there were a few glitches: long concession lines, for one. Some poor guy spent more than an hour waiting for food. Most folks said it took at least 30 minutes to get their munchies---way too long, they said. The other complaint was Metro, which has been touted as the best way to get to the new park. Last night though, some said there were not enough cars and the trains were too slow.

Tonight is chilly, but fans don't seem to be letting that get in their way. People are already hanging out at the ballpark, looking for their seats, checking out the grounds and watching the Nationals practicing before their game against the Atlanta Braves.